Concordia Ship Removal Awarded to Titan Salvage, Micoperi

Carnival Corp. (CCL)’s Costa Crociere SpA said the removal of the shipwrecked Costa Concordia from Giglio island in Italy was awarded to Titan Salvage and Micoperi.

The operation, subject to final approval by Italian authorities, will begin early next month and is expected to take about a year, the company said today in a statement.

The wreck will be removed in one piece, re-floated and towed to an Italian port, Costa Crociere said. Fuel removal was completed on March 24 and throughout the operation environmental protection will have “top priority,” the company said.

Pompano Beach, Florida-based Titan Salvage, is a unit of Crowley Maritime Corporation and has performed more than 350 salvage and wreck removal projects since being founded in 1980, according to its website. The operation will be carried out in partnership with Micoperi, an Italian marine contractor.

The Costa Concordia ran aground near Giglio hours after leaving a port close to Rome with 4,200 passengers and crew on Jan. 13, leaving at least 25 people dead.

To contact the reporter on this story: Chiara Remondini in Milan at cremondini@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Kenneth Wong at kwong11@bloomberg.net